Nonmunicipal Water Systems
Are Many and Varied

Nearly
75 percent of Minnesotans receive their drinking water from one of the
959 community water suppliers in the state. Most of these systems are
utilities operated by cities; however, nearly one-third of the community
systems fall into the nonmunicipal category. These systems are diverse,
both in sizeranging from fewer than 25 residents served to over
5,000and in type.

The majority of nonmunicipal systems (145 of 250) consists of mobile
home parks, with all but 12 of them serving 100 or fewer residents. nonmunicipal
systems also comprise 43 housing subdivisions and 24 apartment/condominium
complexes; neither of these categories includes a system serving more
than 100 residents nor do the nine nursing homes that have their own
community water systems.

The remaining categoriesschools, correctional facilities, treatment
facilities, and an other category that includes convents
and hospitalsare smaller in number of systems but larger in terms
of number of people served: five of the nine schools, including St. Olaf
and Carleton College and St. Johns University, serve more than
1,000 people with a median of 1,600 for the overall group of schools.
The median for correctional facilities is 650; for treatment facilities,
391; and for the other category, 102 (although this includes
the largest nonmunicipal community system in the state, Abbott-Northwestern
Hospital, which serves 5,600).

Twin Fawn Mobile Home Park
An example of a typical water system for a mobile home park is Twin Fawn
Mobile Home Park on U. S. Highway 61 outside of Frontenac. It is a
small systemhaving only 20 connectionsbut one that faces
some of the same challenges as larger suppliers.

John and Wyvona Schmauss have operated the development for 19 years.
They inherited a water system dealing with high iron, a common problem
in that area. Wyvona remembers that one of the local restaurants began
using colored glasses as a way of hiding the redness in the water.

The water supplied at Twin Fawn was softened in a futile attempt to
deal with the iron. The Schmausses then tried a phosphate additive but
without results. Finally, they found success by transforming the softening
units into iron filters and adding a chlorine feed system as a means
of oxidizing the iron.

Chuck Dudrey, whose daughter lives in the complex, now operates the
water supply for Twin Fawn and reports that the system has never experienced
any problems with bacterial contamination. However, for the past few
years, he has grappled with a lead situation. During tap sampling in
July 1993, two of the five homes tested exceeded the action level for
lead.

The Schmausses want to be able to deal with the lead issue without having
to add expensive equipment or treatment that would cause them to pass
the costs on to residents. For a lot of people, living in a mobile
home is a matter of economics, says Wyvona. An increase of
even a few dollars in their monthly bill can be a big burden for them. She
hopes the problem can be solved with the replacement of some faucets,
a much more inexpensive alternative.

Wyvona says they would love to get out of the water business and connect
to a municipal supply; however, the nearest system is seven miles away
in Lake City, and the cost of hooking up would be prohibitive. Meanwhile,
they continue to do whats necessary to supply water to the 45 residents
in the complex.

Plant operator Jim Dombrovski (left) explains the system used
to provide drinking water at the Minnesota Correctional Facility
at Stillwater.

Co-owner John Schmauss and water operator Chuck Dudrey of Twin
Fawn Mobile Home Park.

Minnesota Correctional FacilityStillwater
The Minnesota Correctional Facility at Stillwater is a larger nonmunicipal
system, serving 1,350 inmates and 500 staff members. Jim Dombrovski
has been the plant operator at the prison for 16 years. Budget cuts
through the years have eliminated other civilian operators, causing
Dombrovski to rely on two to three resident operators, who are selected
from the minimum-security population. The plant is automated but requires
24-hour monitoring. Theyre my eyes and ears, says
Dombrovski. The Department of Corrections has expressed security concerns
regarding the use of inmates as operators. With the plant itself outside
the prison walls, the possibility of an escape attempt is the primary
threat. But Dombrovski says he has never any problems with his operators. "They
do a good job and stay out of trouble, he adds.

The operators receive a week of training from Dombrovski, who has even
taken a couple of them to off-site training courses so they can get licensed.
He is aware of at least two who have gone on to become water operators
for municipalities upon release from Stillwater.

The Stillwater system has two wells: one is a 735-foot-deep, 1,260 gallon
per minute (gpm) well and is located outside the prison walls; the other,
located within the compound, is a 715-foot-deep, 600 gpm well that is
used primarily as a backup.

The water is disinfected, then pumped into the tower. From there it
serves the inmates and staff by gravity, supplying 500,000 gallons per
day. Although most of the water is used for drinking and cooking, a separate
line draws off approximately 150,000 gallons a day for use in the boilers.
This water is softened in the plant before receiving additional treatment
from zeolite filters inside the prison walls to bring the total hardness
down to zero, which is necessary to maintain the boilers.

Chlorination helps assure the water used for drinking and cooking is
safe, but aesthetic problems, primarily red water, result because of
high iron and manganese.

Many years ago, the prison considered hooking into the municipal water
supply in nearby Bayport; however, such a switch would have been expensive
because Bayport would have required the correctional facility to upgrade
the north end of the citys distribution system. We have two
good, productive wells, Dombrovski says. Its cheaper
to do it ourselves.

The facilitys water system is slated for improvements totaling
$250,000. Under the plan, the current plant will be shut down and a new
zeolite system installed, entirely inside the prison walls. All of the
water will be softened by the new system, which will tap into the same
line that now feeds the powerhouse and boilers. Dombrovski adds that
the improvements, which could be completed by the end of 1996, should
also solve the red water problems.

So while municipalities will still be the more prominent of community
water suppliers, nonmunicipal systems in the state continue to play an
important role in delivering safe drinking water to Minnesotans.